Posts filed under ‘religion’

The news item of US panel seeking Modi’s probe came again as a shock. The US Commission of International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) has put India on the watch list. It is unhappy that justice for communal violence continues to be slow and ineffective. This is something the GOI should sit up because the USCRIF is interfering in the internal affairs of the country. It is a different sort of a terrorism of targeting Modi.In some way it is instigating anti-Modi sentiments and arousing hatred This is communal terrorism. Who is the USCIRF to point a finger at our judicial system and fault it for slowness and ineffectiveness? What does it want? Is this not a violation of our sovereignty and integrity of the country?

Does the USCRIF think that it is a super cop and can trample on our democratic rights? Let it keep its house clean.There is discrimination and anti-ethnic violence in the USA and other countries.Why does it always want to target Modi.It is none of its business because Modi is an elected Chief Minister of the country and has the mandate of the people. The Congress has its backdoor envoys through which it is engineering this blackmail and this will not work. The NGOs most of which are foreign funded keep feeding this anti-Modi grist to the USCIRF. Anything against Modi is sweet to the ears of the donor countries. Knowing this well the NGOs have upped their ante. It is one thing to proceed legally but it is another thing for a USCIRF to meddle with Indian affairs. This is not called for and is a blatant violation of the country’s integrity. Manmohan Singh and the GOI cannot allow the USCIRF to get away with this kind of biased and prejudicial statements.

The USCIRF is not bothered about the torture and the brutalities inflicted on the Sri Lankan Tamils,It had nothing to say on the Yagoon Junta,it is silent on the massacre of the Brahmin pundits in Kashmir, the persecution of minorities in Pakistan and Bangle Desh.These and more anti human and anti people violations the USCIRF silently watches or is not even aware of. Its business is only a single agenda-that is dislodging Modi-punish him for the Gujarat riots. This without even giving a thought and mention to the agony and the brutality in which 59 Hindus who were roasted and burned. It had no hind sight understanding of the Congress which had engineered a genocide against the Sikhs in which 30,000 Sikhs across the country were butchered.The USCIRF does not know perhaps that Gujarat riots is not the first of its kind.

All this does not mean that it has the right to invade this country’s sovereignty. But these are mentioned because it looks that globally it is only Modi which the USCIRF has marked as a culprit for the Gujarat riots. There has been greater number of people who through Warren Anderson’s act of negligence been dehumanized and deprived of human dignity-Through the USA’s Union Carbide’s callousness and carelessness and profit avarice had rendered people homeless, people have been killed, and others maimed and crippled. After 20 years the surviving ones are carrying on with their mult-ailments and penury lives. It is this country which wants to stone Modi. Why not arraign Warren Anderson for Justice? Why pick and chose cases for Justice. Warren Anderson is very much in the USA and the injustice organization of the USA has not rendered justice to those whom it deprived. He who has not sinned let him throw the first stone. This the USCIRF must be well aware of. All lives are unique-one cannot make a case only for lives of a particular religious community

We the people of India know about Modi and the Indian judiciary with all its weakness is equipped to deal with the matter. The Congress party of India can keep its leaders silent because they sent powerful messages Be it P.Chidamabaram or Kapil Sibal who rush in to praise the discredited cop Sanjiv Bhatt because he has given evidence against Modi after 9 years of silence betray the Congress party’s over reach to get at Modi. So one has to infer that the Congress party has its extended private foot soldiers and over seas agencies through which it is trying to target Modi. All for the same of political power. No wonder its Indian extensions through the NGOs are in the National Advisory Council. The design is sinister and clear .Modi is the only stumbling block for the Congress and it is unable to dislodge him. Well no matter what the Congress party and its over seas private bodies try the people of Gujarat shall not allow Modi to be dislodged because they know the truth and Truth will triumph.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is being discriminatory- and is anti religious and anti-India. It is a Christian organization and seems to be against Hindus. Thus it has no credentials and credibility to be fair and it has no legal status to violate India’s sovereignty and integrity. Let it stop this sort of religious terrorism in the name of International Religious Freedom. It cannot teach India what Religious Freedom is all about.

Fr. Sebastian Maria Michael S.V.D., is professor in sociology and anthropology at the University of Mumbai. Also the director of the Andheri Institute of Indian Culture in Mumbai, he was appointed consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in January 2009. Contributing editor of “MissionToday”, a quarterly published from the Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong, Meghalaya, his paper on “Christian Sannyasin’s view of Religious Freedom” can be found in”A Dialogue: Hindu-Christian Cosmology and Religion.”

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I found ‘Gandhi on Conversion’, a very shallow article of the whole issue of Conversion by Fr. S.M.Michael SVD(Society of the Divine Word) I would have expected him to be more judicious and prudent in the usages of words and quotes for clarification, support, or accusations.
I fail to understand why the whole debate on conversion should be straitjacketed with Gandhi’s life and works.- and a few reformers. It is true that when one wants to substantiate one only picks what is relevant. And it is true that Gandhi who is called the Father of the nation and who is being held by the Congress as its unique leader did state that ‘If I had power and could legislate, the first thing I would ban is conversions” It is puzzling why Fr.Michael thinks that Gandhi’s views on conversion are very limited by his location in the social structure from where he came. Does that mean that one’s views will depend on world wide roaming and outside a social structure to make it unlimited? To me it seems a crude and immature way of evaluation of ideas and statements made by renowned persons. For that matter every Indian has a location in a social structure-whether we like it or not. Every country in the world has its own social structure. Be it the UK, USA Australian etc. Does this limitation on the basis of location in the social structure apply only to Gandhi or to Ambedkar, Jotirao Phule et al and even Fr Michael SVD. The validity is that from that location alone one views the community, the nation and the world. Can one have any other choice? Along with this, the experiences one had, has, will also influence one’s perception.Greatness depends on the ability to gauge the merits and the demerits of that structure and strife to remove the oppression of that structure. I think that’s what Gandhi tried to do by his own example and his different works. For a personal note I must confess I am no admirer of the whole range of Gandhian philosophy or his political thought.
In trying to compare the Gandhi’s view on conversion with Ambedkar Fr Michael SVD has tripped on his very premise on conversion.. Each one will have one’s own perception one’s own “charisma” But did Ambedkar become a Christian? Can Fr Michael SVDalso give the reasons why Ambedkar rejected Christianity? Because he found the social structure as oppressive within the official church and its followers as in the outside society. Fr Michael SVD should know that one should not try to remove the dust in another’s eye when one has a beam in one’s own. So when Michael svd falls back on Ambedkar’s statement that he is “born a Hindu but will not die as one” he should go the whole way and not be selective to prove his point- which he accused the votaries of Sangh Parivar of quoting Gandhi on conversion for their selective use of Gandhian views. Not even the Congress party uses any of Gandhian views .For that matter Swami Vivekananda’s remark ‘Be born in a religion,but do not die in a religion’ shows the great heights to which this renowned monk of India attained. Heavens do not follow a divisive policies or a social structure and when one attains that bliss everything falls-there is no religion.
The author has brought in Raja Rammohan Roy(1772-1833) and again made a comparison to Dayanand Saraswati.(1824-1883) I am unable to touch the point which he is laboring to make. Every reformer and religious leader has tried to bring in changes and reform religion. Reform was not only restricted to the Hindu religion. Fr Michael SVD will admit that in Christianity too there are at least two major trends-one progressive and the other conservative .There are many more- neither this nor that and now the recent trend is to simply discard the Roman Catholic church teachings. This is what has happened and happening in Europe. No wonder the Church has focused on India. Islamic countries are closed to them and it will not dare to convert. China is closed and the Christians countries are no longer Christian in the real term so that leaves India for its business of conversion. Even the Popes had their own biases depending on their world vision and their goals.
Every Pope thought he wanted to reform the church and mind you every Pope thought he was infallible. But here we have Hindu religious leaders and Hindu reformers who do not make such dogmatic claims but are striving in their way to purify Hinduism, to invigorate it and to disseminate the substance and remove the chaff from it. We had Pope JohnXX111 who through his Vatican documents wanted to reform the antiquated and stifling church. He brought in pluralism and an openness which was refreshing but did not find full support.
I would not agree that Gandhi’s attitude to the ‘Untouchables’ was derogatory. When he considered them less intelligent than the cows it was only a way of saying that they will not be able to distinguish between the relative merits of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. May be it was crudely put forth. But this is applicable to the majority of us-the common people are least bothered and will not perceive and discern the differences. Why does the church constantly refer to its followers as ‘flock’ of sheep does it not indicate that Catholics are as dumb as the flock and that they will simply follow with no ability to question, discern and argue. Why then does the church continue to use this derogatory term even now in the 21st century?At least in comparison the cow is a higher animal-it is worshipped and its milk is next best to the mother’s milk. So Fr Michael SVD need not pull out that remark by Gandhi and use it as a yardstick to pass a judgment that he was derogatory of the Harijans. He does acknowledges that Gandhi repeated harped on the evils of Untouchability, he adopted a dalit girl as his daughter, he decided to live with the Untouchables to become one with them, he started the Harijan Sevak Sangh and of course he symbolically called the Untouchables Harijans(children of God) all this is swept aside and the comparison to the cow negates everything else. This is simply ridiculous.

Can Michael cite one from the Catholic church who could match the same zeal and works that Gandhi had and did .Yet the Catholic Church wants to convert the Harijans- precisely because till date the poor harijans are not able to discern and not bothered to discern the difference between religions .They are engaged to keep their fires burning, to grapple with the daily needs. It is not to every dalit home that Rahul Gandhi will visit to realize still in what conditions they are and the Church with its towering spires within a hamlet of the deprived Harijans stand as a defiance of Truth and an arrogance of power and prestige unrelated to the reality. The aam admi is a slogan and the symbolism of which Fr Michael now talks of, is revealed in the various schemes the Congress has worked out and it is to these signs and symbols that the ‘flock’ was asked to ardently appeal to the heavens to be voted back in power. It is for this party that ‘fatwas’ were issues to the ‘flock’ to keep the symbolism alive. So why look down on tokenism Fr Michael SVD to make an effective thesis on Hinduism and what the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is all about should study Sanatana Dharma –then he will understand what Hindutva really is instead of branding it as militant. It is completely wrong to state that “the concern for social reform at the beginning of the Indian nationalist movement was given a back seat with the emergence of militant Hindu nationalism.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was established in 1925” precisely to give an impetus to the national movement. We were against not only a colonizer but also the colonizer was a proselytizer. The role of the RSS was accepted by Nehru and other national leaders.It is sheer ignorance to put the national movement and the reform movement on the same level. Michael SVD utters the word ‘militant’ as though it is a bad word! Bad only when Hindus are militant. Are the Evangelical churches not militant-Is the Catholic Church not militant?

A Hindu country with its majority people Hindus will talk, act and respond to the colonizer from a Hindu ethos. A nation, a national culture is basically Hindu. Why is it that when catholic/Christians hear the word ‘Hindu’ they suffer from some sort of a phobia? But when one refers to Christian countries, Islamic countries there is no resentment. That was the reality-a Hindu ethos that engulfed this nation. It is in this background that the demand was made by Fr Jerome D’ Souza sj in the constituent Assembly for Arts 29,30 and 31.This on the plea to safeguard the Christian ethos. When you talk of a Christian ethos and demanded for its safeguard in the Indian Constitution a Fundamental Right does the Hindus not have a right to identify nation and national culture as basically Hindu. Hindus do not have divided loyalties. Islam and Christianity had their loyalties outside India and were migrant religions. These did not divest religion from their respective cultures-Muslim culture and Christian culture.

Truth hurts. Hindus can be burned, raped, their swamijis can be butchered-their ashrams can be ransacked, no voice will be raised and neither Rome nor the European Union will even utter a whimper. But rape of a nun, push down a few rickety rackety halls called churches –Rome will through its internuncio ask the government for explanation, the European Union will at its summit express its concern to the Prime Minister who had to confess that the Kandhamal incident was a blot on India. What does this show? That Christians have their leaders and their loyalties outside India. The Hindus- don’t fall back on any outsider because they have no loyalties outside, since they have no masters outside. Even the cause for the militancy is not taken into account. Hindus have been massacred, Hindu pandits have been driven away from the Valley and are today refugees in their land-this has to be taken in their stride and no justice is demanded. Should the Hindus just sit back and watch this show-talk of militancy? Injustice after injustice is being heaped on them and Michael mentions ‘militancy’.
Today if there is a rethink whatever be the motive to inculturation then it clearly goes to prove that Catholic official church was western in its content and Roman in its outlook and culture, The Hindu religion belong and sprang from this soil and was not imported. It is part and particle of this soil. It sprang from within. The Spirit did not move in India two thousand year ago only-but was and is and ever will be. There is surely an amalgamation of nation, nationalism and culture. The point to be noted is with the forcing down of Christianity by the economic and political invaders they tried to thrust their culture also. Because for them religion and culture was one too. Hence we have Christian names –does not matter if they are pagan names. Why is the Catholic Church now going in for inculturation? Because it wants an identify with the Indians is the best explanation; and the worst -so that it can easily proselytize the gullible people –make the
herds of cows into flocks of sheep.
The word ‘militant’ is antithesis for Sanatana Dharma.and to Hinduism.Had it been militant world religions feeling from their own birth countries would not have found a place here. Militancy is something inherent in Christianity right from its inception. I will not blame Michael SVD because in the seminar training the history of the church is only a watered down version. This is done purposely because Church history will put to shame any decent human being-the violence, the blood letting, the persecution history of the church, its deeply entrenchment in corruption, conspiracy ,the papacy and the kings-the illegitimacy of the papacy, papal power play with politics, all this is world history. The Catholics be they priests and lay people hardly know about this. Today they see the benevolent church patronizing them, feeding the poor and going about doing social work. It is this that Jesus called the white washed tombs and the worm eating corpses within. It is this that Jesus branded as hypocrites.

To whom did the Inquisition belong, from where did the mafia originate? Who burned men and women on the stakes? What were the Crusades? What kind of weapons of torture did Rome use? Some are still kept as exhibits in the Vatican. This is the parampara of the Catholic Church. The past has a link with the present and points to the future. What is hypocritical is the accusing finger pointing towards the Hindus-the Sangh Parivars and all its allied organizations Can anyone accuse the Hindus and Hinduism of this kind of massacre, brutality and perversity? Yes, the caste system can be put at the doorstep of Manu and is the only blot but which today the Catholic Church follows more rigidly. The Congress uses it and perpetuates it for its vote bank politics etching and re- etching it into the soco-political fabric of the nation for its power.This is reinforced by Christianity. Different churches, same church divided
into two-cemeteries are separate-for the Harijans and the upper caste. Even the corpses are segregated and Untouchablity followed in the very letter and spirit. I would reject the tokenism and the symbolic gestures by the Catholic Church.

In our own country what was the spree of conversion? What were the methods used to convert people-if it was open force, destruction of thousands of temples and idols, Hindu icons, Christianization of lives and live styles- today it is camouflaged with social work from distribution of food, to seats in the educational institutions. The destruction of thousands of temples was right and the damaging of a few churches under great provocation today is wrong. The building of churches on every available space-on government poorumboke land is right but the building of Ram temple –the faith of a people is wrong. Should the Ram temple then be built in Mecca or in Vatican?

The whole debate on Conversion should be thrown open and not held within the parameters of Pandita Ramabai,Gandhi,Jotirao Phule,Ambedkar .We are experiencing the tensions, the ruptures, the destruction of the culture ,the invasion of India by other religions, the global interference in our affairs, the poverty exploitation, the cows becoming ‘flocks’, the commercialization of conversion, the business that is conversion all this and more we have data and our own personal experiences. Conversion is a process-a life long of seeking and a free choice make after enlightenment.With ignorance where can discernment come-with hunger eating your entrails where can free option come. So money plays a role and this in the name of god and religion. Let the debate on conversion then spread and be wide open…. It is a destruction of everything ancient and precious of a heritage held sacred. It is the imposition of a superior god making those following other gods as inferior. Is this not worse than a social structure of which Michael SVD pointed as limiting Gandhi’s perception?
The activities of the Christian missionaries are a fraud on the nation because it is not their business to convert Hindus to Christianity. What does that imply-that they have a better and a superior god and that what they follow is better than what the others are following. Conversion is a business and a money spinning one. Apart from that it forgets that religion has its own cultural practices and its own ethos. The Hindus have no two loyalties-unlike the Catholics-one to Rome and another to the political party which is in power. So it is a divided loyalty – goes against nationalism. This is exactly why China closed its doors to Christianity and threw out the missionaries. It has its own national catholic church.

It was not just shocking but a blatant falsehood and an insult when Michael SVD states the “Hindutuva forces which eliminated Gandhi, the Father of the nation, perpetrators of rape, looting and murder now tries to take shelter under Gandhi’s shadow without even having a remorse of their guilt.” Note how Gandhi has been suddenly elevated by him to suit his condemnation of the Hindutva forces. I would like to elaborate on this because Michael is completely in the dark about the church to which he belongs, about the Jesus whom he would claim as his leader, about guilt and remorse of which he accuses others not to have.

Remorse and guilt for what? For assassinating of Gandhi? Political history shows how assassinations on the basis of ideology have been common. History does elevate the assassin after much research and when truth comes out and is upheld by historians. Godse’s last address to the Court was that he had no regret because Gandhi abetted and authored the creation of a theocratic country. This was done by cutting off this motherland of ours .What was the reason because the Muslims said that they will not be able to live with the Hindus-to put it in simple words. Now look at the consequence of that action of Gandhi. Of course Godse‘s soul was secular to its core and he could not reconcile to the fact that part of this country could become a theocratic State. Today the so called secularists who proclaim to be secular are the most communal. But why does Michael fault the present day Hindutuva forces? Is he playing vote bank politics? Sins of your father is on you and hence this is a permanent blot-like the original sin (which most Catholics do not believe) Are all the Sikhs guilty of the assassination of Indira Gandhi? If so then on Michael’s own il/logic then all the Catholics are guilty of the massacre and the destruction of the Hindus in this country. They have to wash their guilt they have to be remorseful. At least let the official Catholic church in India follow Pope John Paul 11 who asked for forgiveness for the past errors of the Roman Catholic Church during a solemn mass in St Peter’s Basilica on March 14th 2000 “we ask for forgiveness for divisions between Christians, for use of violence in the name of truth, and for the diffidence and hostility engaged against followers of their religions” Now either Michael SVD should fault the Pope or adhere to his forgiveness seeking. If he faults the Pope he can get back with his reasons. If he adheres to the Pope then he has to stop faulting others, disengage in hostility against the followers of other religions. Forgiveness means a resolution not to commit the same.-only then can there be absolution. Michael SVD should know that better than me.

Finally desist from picking at one rape here and another rape when it is a nun and play cheap politics by accusing the Hindutva forces. Hundreds are being raped and murdered across the country not by the Hindutva forces But it seems that the Christians wait to catch the Hindus in some violation. With murder and rape right in the capital of this country and in the highways and byways of this country are an everyday affair it is disturbing to find an ominous silence. Does violation become a violation and its gravity depending on the perpetrator and the victim? He who has not sinned let him cast the first stone-does it ring a bell in Michael’s memory? Women and children are rape within the home, in the workplace, in moving vehicles, in police stations- the Catholic Church is silent as though it does not matter. But if a nun is rape then the whole country is violently shaken like an earthquake. This outrage can be understood if nuns are at least not sexually molested and violated within their convents by priests. It seems that in the rape of a nun there is politics and that is another form of exploitation…Do not continue to crucify the Truth. ‘Amen’(read it too)
Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara

The UPA government’s unprecedented step of inviting the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (UNCIRF) to visit Gujarat and Orissa is not only disturbing but also portents greater harm to harmony and unity of the country. It exposes the country to international policing which has its ramification on areas of the violations of the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. Today it can be a Commission why not later an army? It can be for the purpose of protection the minorities. The basic premise is the same.

Hypothetically let’s imagine that the Commission faults the government of both the States on their failure to protect the minorities. Should Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi appear before this Commission and plead guilty-or plead innocent and with all humility accept the penalty it will impose. Can there be a greater insult to democracy and to the sovereignty of this country. It is invasion-be it territorial, social or religious- no matter which area invasiveness of any kind cannot be accept by any norm. What then is the role of the Congress led UPA government? Does it not stand indicted for its impotency to curb violence? It cannot abdicate its responsibility and obligation to protect the minorities and rein in the State governments. Hence if this is logically followed then accused no one is the Congress –Manmohan Singh-proof of his political weakness. Which country would tolerate such invasion and interference in its internal affairs? Are we bonded to the USA and its various organizations? No patriotic Indian irrespective of religion would accept the policing of this nation by outside agencies.

Can the CBCI and the INDIAN Churches which objected to such invasiveness 9 years ago now make a U-turn? In the course of five years what has been the persecution witnessed in India. The Brahmin Pundits killed in hundreds and chased away from J& K under ethnic cleansing has not raised the international community’s concern. The rape of the five nuns in Junabha after wrong reporting was set right when the nuns themselves gave interviews and said that it had nothing to do with religion. In fact those involved were converted tribals . In Orissa the massacre of Swami Lakshmananda and his disciples led to a clash in which not only Christians were victims but also Hindus were killed. The infamous Gujarat riots are being tried by the SIT. But the earlier versions and the gory stories of brutality and rape and massacres made by the activist Teesta Setalvad were found be faked, cooked up, witnesses and their statements doctored- hence the Supreme Court rejected the bundle of lies.

Against this backdrop the Congress allowing the UNCIRF to enquire into the violence against the minorities is political in intend and has everything to do to further divide the people on religious grounds. Will the UNCIRF be allowed to enter Pakistan or any Islamic country where there is discrimination against the minorities?

The Congress and the Christian churches seem to conspire against the Hindus. This is evident when one looks at the pre-election scenario. In April the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) issued ‘Ten Commandments list of dos and don’ts for the Catholics to follow. But it did not indicate which party to vote for. This was followed by a number of churches scripting prayers for the ‘flock’ which was couched in appeals to God to bring in a party which will allow religious freedom. and uphold the same guaranteed in the Constitution. Across India the whole Christian community was galvanized by such covert campaigning. Then in Karnatake a priest had the audacity to openly tell the ‘flock’ not to vote for the BJP. Joining hands with the Muslim leaders the Catholic leaders also issued fatwa-overtly and covertly compelling the ‘flock’ to vote for the Congress. The Election Commission is unmindful of this religious-politics mix and this blatant communalism. Only when Advani appeals to the Hindu religious leaders the EC becomes alert and people like John Dayal makes it a case for condemnation. He did not hesitate to assert that the Churches do not give any directives nor interfere in the freedom of the Christians to vote for the party of their choice. It is only when the Hindu organizations and BJP politicians appeal to the people the ire of the EC is provoked. Then the media will come out with
its secular advocacy and condemn the communalism of the BJP and its allies

The churches double speak has exposed its ulterior motive-9 years ago (Sept 2000)when the CBCI had described as “unwarranted” the proposed hearing on religious freedom in India by the UNCIRF and distanced itself from John Dayal by stating that he was attending it in his individual capacity. It is relevant to recall what the Christian MPs felt then. They acknowledged the need to curb the influence of fundamentalists over the community and the Church. By disposing before the US panel Dayal has given the Hindu extremist groups valid reason to doubt the integrity of the community and ‘we could just be inviting Hindu extremist backlash’ rued Patty Ripple Kyndiah-who further added that the antics of John Dayal is against national interests. Former Speaker P.A Sagma endorsed the views of Kyndiah, ‘This is our internal problem. We are capable of solving it’.

What has changed in the last nine years? The number of churches built has increased more than a hundred fold. Christians institutions are given all the financial assistance, Christians have occupied hundreds and hundreds of acres of promboke land on which they quickly put up a shack and a cross-for further putting up pucca buildings both commercial and religious-this enables them to occupy land, acquire assets-evade tax and even electricity charges. It would be of national interest to make a survey and find out the status of the Churches property wise and cash wise.
The fact that when in so called Christian countries churches are closing down herein India churches are annually increasing in number. Even in Italy the churches are empty but here the churches are full every Sundays and the pulpit is used even against the government but goes unchallenged.

From a poor country like ours money flows to Rome-from congregations working for the poor and the destitute in India money flows to Vatican. Are these signs of a persecuted church? The flow of money to churches and church allied ‘development organizations have trebled during the last five years. The government of India has these on its record. Is this a sign of a church that is under duress and its people victims of rape and atrocities? Why then should money from here go to Rome/Vatican? The Cross is not a sign to camouflage lies and cover truth. The church by its anti national stand is crucifying Truth. Jesus was faithful to his Jewish traditions and to insult that he was crucified naked on the cross (no loin cloth) so the bible states. Why should a people who proclaim that they stand for His values become anti-national and betray their own country and country men? Are non minorities not raped, butchered, victimized in this country? To whom do they appeal? They do not run to international lobbies. This is a sad commentary on the Christian community and its loyalties. One is first an Indian then a Christian-for one cannot change one’s nationality but can change ones religion. The CBCI and the laity leaders cannot do greater harm to the community than participate in the UNCIRF sittings. In fact they should have protested against this unprecedented move of the Congress under Mrs Sonia Gandhi. The Christian community cannot be mortgaged for her ulterior political motives. Religion is an emotive issue and once the people are permanently divided-the national unity will be a thing of the past and at the drop of a hat the country will erupt into a civil war.

Every communal riot if objectively analyzed was a backlash and the poor people irrespective of religion were the victims. The power games of the powerful have torn nations apart by war followed by famines leading to a total destruction and subjugation a people. The interference into our internal affairs must be seen on a larger scale frame earlier experience-present position with a projection on the future. Invasiveness of any kind in the affairs of a sovereign country means two things-the supervisory role of the invasive country/organization and the subjective, subservient level of the interfered country. We have a democracy and a Constitution which has stood us well. Except for some aberrations brought by vest interest politicians the people have always been able to overcome this and to set the tone and tenure for harmonious unity. This is the only country in the world which has opened its arms to all religions and all people and thus became the cradle of world religions. The fringe Christian churches have been misusing the Freedom of Religion proselytizing, and poaching on other churches creating social tensions. One is not judged by one’s religion but will be judged in the measure of love one has lived with and the Truth one has upheld.

PS-Would the Church permit the UNCIRF to visit the convents which have reported rapes, sexual violations, murders and oppression of women (nuns).